Automatic closure cap selector



July 20, 1965 c. s. OCHS ETAL AUTOMATIC CLOSURE CAP SELECTOR 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1962 INVENTOR CH as 5. Ocns II C! Rama y20, 1965 c. s. OCHS ETAL 3,195,705

AUTOMATIC CLOSURE CAP SELECTOR Filed Sept. 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States Patent 3,1?Jil5 AU'ifti-"lvth'litl Cb SURE CAP SELECTQRCharles 33. @chs and .lcseph Q. Enrico, Lancaster, Ohio, assignors toAnchor Hocking Glass Qorporation, Lain caster, (lhio, a corporation ofDelaware Filed Sept. 18, 19 52, Ber. N ZZdAltl 12 (Cl. res-4s Thepresent invention relates to an improved cap selector and moreparticularly to a high speed cap selector for use with caps or similararticles having rounded top corners or having flared, flanged or curvedskirts.

A cap selector receives randomly oriented caps from a cap feeding hopperor other supplier and selects and passes on only correctly oriented capshaving their tops all facing in the same direction. A cap selector, forexample, is used to feed caps with all the tops facing in the samedirection to a sealing machine where the caps are passed from a feedchute to a cap applicator which applies the caps to containers. Theapplicator may be designed to receive the caps with their tops uppermostor may be designed to operate with the caps being received in aninverted position.

The cap selector of the present invention is an im provement upon priorselectors of this general type do to its relatively simple operation andits small number of parts. These features permit the selector to bereadily adjusted for handling changes in cap size and also permit theeasy replacement of one cap selector for another where the change in capshape or size requires such a substitution. The relative simplicity ofthe selector pcrmits a variety of interchangeable parts for diiterentcaps or a number of cap selectors to be kept on hand for different capsizes with only a relatively small investment. The simplicity of designand operation also permits the selector to run at high speeds and to runfor long periods without adjustment or repair since the elimination ofnumerous moving parts and complex guiding and cumming surfaces minimizesselector wear during operation and permits continuous high speedoperation over long periods. The uncluttered and open form of theselector also facilitates its cleaning and provides for the continualmaintenance of a clean unit by eliminating possible dirt accumulating orretaining elements and by exposing its main elements for easy cleaning,inspection and adjustment. "the cap selector of the present inventionalso is capable of being produced for a wide range of cap sizes incompact form so that it may be readily fitted into a variety of capfeeding set-ups including use between all types of cap feeding hoppersand cap applying devices. This makes the improved select-or useful onexisting sealing equipment as well as on new container sealing or othersimilar article handling machinery.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved cap selector.

Another obiect of the present invention is to provide a high speed capselector characterized by extreme simplicity and reliability.

Another object or" the present invention is to provide a cap selectoruseful with widely varyin sizes or" caps.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap selectorreadily adapted for changes in cap height and diameter.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap selectoreffective on caps having relatively straight shirts and rounded topcorners.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap selectoreffective on caps having a flanged, flared or offset skirt where aportion of the shirt has a larger diameter than the remainder.

Other and further objects of the present invention ice will be obviousupon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to bedescribed, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and variousadvantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the artupon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

PEG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the capselector;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of PEG. 1 illustratingthe rejection of an improperly oriented n;

FIG. 3 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the passage ofa properly oriented cap;

FIG. 4- is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the operation ofthe cap selector of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5 and- 6 are sectional views of another embodiment of the capselector being used with caps having straight skirts with a roundedcorner between the cap skirt and top;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational View of another embodiment of the capselector;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the cap selector taken along line 8-8 ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view corresponding to FlG. 8 showing selectoroperation for an incorrectly oriented cap; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cap selector of FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the cap selector 1 has a cap chute or channel2 which carries a line or" cups 3 through the selector for the sensingand selecting operation. The inlet end 4 of the chute 2 is connected bya suitable chute to a cap feeding hopper or other cap supply means (notshown) and the outlet end 5 of the selector l is connected by a suitablechannel directly to a container sealing machine or to any other articlehandling or storing device (not shown) for the correctly oriented caps3.

The cap selector is used where the caps 3 which are being fed throughthe channel 2 are randomly oriented so that the caps may be facing oneway or the other in the chute 2. The function or" the selector is tosense all caps which face in one particular direction and to reiovethese caps from the chute 2 so that they may be returned to the feedhopper. All caps passing through the outlet end 5 or" the chute 2 willbe positioned in the same way which, in the embodiment described herein,is with the cap tops uppermost in the position shown for the cap 3 inFIG. 3.

Since the caps 3 are normally fed from hoppers and into chutes such asthe chute 2 under pressure, this feed pressure acts to continually movethe caps 3 through the chute 2 past the selector means.

The selector It illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 operates in the followingmanner. As illustrated in the sectional view of FIGS. 2 and 3, the capchute 2 is tilted in a transverse sense so that a cross-section makes .arelatively steep angle with the horizontal. In the preferred embodiment,this angle is about sees degrees, however, it is not critical. Each ofthe caps 3 passing through the selector l is initially guided by thespaced selector guide rails s and 7 and a top plate 8. At the sensingportion, the lower guide rail s is succeeded by a tapered selecting rail9 having a reduced height at the chute 2 and a sloping cap guidingsurface 159 extending out wardly therefrom. On the upper side of thechute and opposite the initial portion of the selecting rail 9, apressure member L1 is mounted so that its end 12 ex tends through anaperture 13 in the chute cover 8 and an improperly oriented cap and inFIG. 3 for a properly oriented cap. I

The cap 3 shown in these figures is a flanged cap with the lower portionof the skirt l5 flared outwardly as illustrated. As seen in FIG. 2, thepressure member 11 engages the improperly oriented cap at the uppermostedge 16 of its skirt and applies a cap turning or tilting force due tothe engagement of the pressure member 11 against the edge 16 radiallyoutwardly of the top radius 17 of the cap 3 which rests against thechute 2. This force causes the cap 3 to tilt on the chute as illustratedso that its edge in rides up onto the selecting rail 9 from where thecap 3 slips out of chute 2 under the force of the pressure member 11 andof gravity. In

the preferred embodiment, a tapered cam 18 is mounted on the selectingrail 9. This cam 18 facilitates the selection by lifting the edge 1-3 ofthe cap 3 onto the continuing sloping surface 1% of the cap selectingrail 9 to insure that the cap edge 16 is carried over the edge of thecap selecting rail 9 allowing the cap 3 to slide back into the capfeeding hopper or downwardly into a suitable container or onto aconveyor for return to the cap feeding hopper.

FIG. 3 illustrates a correctly orientedcap 3 passing the pressure member11 and the cam 13. In this case, the pressure member 1i contacts the topradius 17 of the cap radially inwardly of the skirt edge 16. This forceacts to turn or hold the cap 3 against the bottom of the chute 2 so thatthecap 3 remains against the bottom of the chute 2 as it passes the cam18 and the selecting rail 9. This correctly oriented cap 3 willtherefore pass the resilient member 11 without being tilted away fromthe chute 2 and will remain within the confines of the cap guide rails6, 7 and 9 and the chute cover 8 so that it passes out of the dischargeend 5 of the chute 2.

In order to space the caps 3 from one another during the time that theyare acted upon by the pressure member 11, a free running star wheel 19is preferably mounted on the selector 1. The star wheel 19 is rotated bythe moving caps and its arms 26 pass between the caps '3 to isolate theparticular cap beneath the pressure member 11 from the other caps toprevent back pressure on this cap from interfering with the selectingoperation.

For changes in cap size, the guide rails 6, '7 and 9 and the cap chutecover 8 may be adjusted by the mounting screws. When necessary, thedetachable selecting rail 9 may be replaced as where the cam 18 is notbeing used. The relative simplicity of the selector also permits aseries of interchangeable selectors -to be pro- 7 vided to handle arange of conventional cap sizes and shapes used in any particularoperation. 7

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the operation of the above described capselector without cam 18 and for caps 21 having a generally straightskirt 22 which joins the cap cover 23 at a top radius 24. As seen inFIG. 5, the properly oriented caps 21 engage the pressure member 11 ataportion of the top radius 24; positioned radially inwardly from theskirt edge 25. This inwardly positioned force tends to hold the cap 21flat against the cap chute 2 to prevent the caps tilting and sliding outof the chute over selector rail 9. On the other hand, in FIG. 6, theimproperly oriented cap 21 is engaged on the skirt edge 25 by pressuremember 11 and the cap 21 is rocked or tilted away from chute 2 on topradius 24 so that force of pressure member 11 and of gravity causes thecap 21 to slide downwardly over the selector rail 9 and out of chute 2.V

The pressure member T1 may be a resilient leaf spring or any othermember havings its edge 12 resiliently mounted to apply a spring likeforce on the caps in the direction of the chute bottom."

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate another embodiment of the cap selector whereinthe'tilting means takes the form of a shaped cam 36. In this embodiment,a lower selector rail 31 of reduced height is 'used having a sloped capguiding surface 32. On the upper side of the chute '2 opposite the lowerrail 31, the sensing cam 36 is provided for tilting improperly orientedcaps so that they slide downwardly over the. guiding surface 32.

The operation for properlyoriented caps 21 is illustrated in FIG. 8. Thecap 21 passes the cam 39 with its top radius 24 in sliding engagementwith a complemenatrily shaped surface 33 on the cam 3t). No tiltingforce is applied in this case to the cap 21. The cap passes along theguide rail 31 without tilting so that it passes out of the discharge end34 of the chute 2.

As illustrated in FlG. 9, an improperly oriented cap 21 strikes therounded surface 33 of the cam 3% with its skirt edge 25 so that it isforced downwardly and tilted outwardly from the chute 2. This causes itstop radius 2 to ride over the edge of the guiding surface 32 and causesthe cap 21 to fall out of the chute 2 under the force of the cam 3t? andof gravity.

Caps 21 such as those illustrated in FIGS. 5-10 having relativelystraight skirt portions are selected efliciently even though in contactwith the other caps of the line so that the star wheel 19 need not beused in selectors which are being only used for this type of caps.

t will be seen that an improved high speed cap selector has beenprovided for use with a wide variety of cap sizes and shapes. The capselector of the present invention is relatively simple and adapted foruse with presently used cap applicators and cap feeding hoppers. Theselector is capable of operating at extremely high speeds so that it maybe used with high speed cap feed hoppers and sealing machines. The capselector also has a minimum number of parts and articularly a minimumnumber of moving parts so that set-up, maintenance, repair and cleaningare simplified and so that the cap selector has an extremely long lifewhich minimizes replacement costs.

As various changes maybe made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A selector for articles having spaced circular edges with one edgehaving a greater diameter than the other comprising the combination of achannel for guiding a moving line of said articles and beinginclined'from the horizontal in a transverse direction, a guide railalong the lowermost edge of said channel for engaging and supporting thesides of articlesrnoving through said channel, and a pressure means onthe uppermost edge of said channel positioned to engage theuppermostcircular edge of each article on the inclined channel whereby thosearticles having their greater diameter uppermost are tilted with respectto said channel and pass out of the channel over said guide rail underthe forceof gravity.

2. The selector as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a spacerfor spacing the articles at said pressure means from the remainingarticles in the moving line.

3. The selector as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a starwheel adjacent said pressure means and having its arms positioned topass between adjacent articles at said pressure means for spacing thearticles at said pressure means from the remaining articles in themoving line.

4. A selector for articles having spaced circular edges at the articlesidewalls with one edge having a greater diameter than the othercomprising the combination of a channel for guiding a moving line ofsaid articles and being inclined from the horizontal in a transversedirection, a guide rail along the lowerinost edge of said channelchannel whereby those eter uppermost tilted on s channel and pass oversaid guide rail under the force of gravity, and a cam on said guide railooposite said pressure means i enga ing the sidewalls of said thosearticles to cooperate in the tilting.

5. A selector for cup-lil e articles having spaced circular edges withone edge having a greater diameter han the other comprising thecombination of a channel for guiding a moving line of said articles andbeing inclined from the horizontal in a transverse direction, a guiderail along the lowermost edge of said channel for engaging andsupporting the sides of articles moviethrough said channel, a recess insaid guide rail, and a pressure means adjacent the uppermost edge ofsaid channel opposite said recessed portion positioned to engage therunnermost circular edge of each article on the channel whereby thosearticles having their greater diameter uppermost are tilted on saidchannel and pass over said guide rail at the recessed portion under theforce of gravity.

*6. The selector as claimed in claim 5 which further comprises a spacerfor spacing the article at said pressure means from the remainingarticles in the moving line.

'7. The selector as clam-ed in claim 5 which further comprises a starwheel adjacent said pressure means and having its arms positioned topass between adjacent articles at said pressure means for spacing thearticle at said pressure means from the remaining articles in the movingline.

8. A selector for closure caps having generally straight skirtsdepending generally uerpendicularly from the cap tops and with roundedcorners between the sldrts and the cap tops comprising the combinationof a chute for guiding a moving line of said caps and being inclinedfrom the horizontal in a transverse direction, a guide rail along thelowermost edge of said chute for engaging and supporting the skirts ofcaps moving through said chute, a. cam adjacent the uppermost edge ofsaid chute positioned to engage caps moving therethrough and having asensing surface shaped to freely pass the uppermost edge of caps havingsaid rounded corners uppermost and to slidably engage the uppermost edgeof the skirt of caps having said rounded corners at said chute tothereby tilt the latter named caps with respect to said chute wherebythey pass out of said chute under the combined forces or" said cam andgravity.

9. A selector for closure caps having generally straight skirtsdepending generally perpendicularly from the cap tops and with roundedcorners between the skirts and the cap tops comprising the combinationof a means our guiding a moving line of said caps, said guiding meansbeing inclined from the horizontal in a transverse direction, a guiderail along tire lowermost edge of said guiding means for engaging andsupporting the skirts of caps moving through said chute, a cam adjacentthe uppermost edge oi said guiding means to engage caps movingtheretlirc-ngh and having a sensing suriace shaped to freely pass theuppermost edge of caps having said rounded corners uppermost and toslidably engage the uppermost edge 05 the shirt having said roundedcorners at said guiding means thereby tilting the latter named caps withrespect to said guiding means whereby they pass out of said chute underthe combined forces of said cam and gravity, and means for spacing thecap at said cam from the moving line of caps.

1%. A selector for closure caps having spaced circular edges with oneedge having a greater diameter than the other comprising the combinationof a channel having a cap supporting bottom for guiding a moving line ofsaid caps and being inclined from the horizontal in a transversedirection, a guide rail along the lowermost edge of said channel forengaging and supporting the skirts of caps moving through said channel,and a tilting means on the uppermost edge of said channel positionedabove the channel bottom for engaging the uppermost circular edge ofeach cap on the inclined channel and pressing it against the bottomwhereby those caps having their greater diameter uppermost are tiltedwith respect to said channel and pass out of the channel over said guiderail under the force of gravity.

11. The selector as claimed in claim Ill which further comprises aspacer for spacing the cap at said tilting means from the remaining capsin the moving line.

12. The selector as claimed in claim lull which further comprises a starwheel adjacent said tilting means and having its arms positioned to passbetween adjacent caps at said tilting means for spacing the cap at saidtilting means from the remaining caps in the moving line.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 245,408 8/81Sheldon 221-160 1,35 8,725 11/ 20 Gaynor. 1,897,116 2/23 Friedman221-159 2,440,959 5/ 48 Krueger. 2,922,548 1/ Anderson 221-156 3,029,9184/ 62 Stover 193-43 3,665,841 11/62 Stover 22116O 3,995,957 7/63 Roberts19343 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

WILLKAM B. LA BORDE, Examiner.

1. A SELECTOR FOR ARTICLES HAVING SPACED CIRCULAR EDGES WITH ONE EDGEHAVING A GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE OTHER COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF ACHANNEL FOR GUIDING A MOVING LINE OF SAID ARTICLES AND BEING INCLINEDFROM THE HORIZONTAL IN A TRANSVERSE DIRECTION, A GUIDE RAIL ALONG THELOWERMOST EDGE OF SAID CHANNEL FOR ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING THE SIDES OFARTICLES MOVING THROUGH SAID CHANNEL, AND A PRESSURE MEANS ON THEUPPERMOST EDGE OF SAID CHANNEL POSITIONED TO ENGAGE THE UPPERMOST EDGEOF SAID CHANNEL ARTICLE ON THE INCLINED CHANNEL WHEREBYD THOSE ARTICLESHAVING THEIR GREATER DIAMETER UPPERMOST ARE TILTED WITH RESPECT TO SAIDCHANNEL AND PASS OUT OF THE CHANNEL OVER SAID GUIDE RAIL UNDER THE FORCEOF GRAVITY.